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Victory!
After a six day hunger strike innitiated by Diane Wilson, Indian Government bows to pressure, agrees to submit a statement to U.S. court in the union Carbide-Bhopal contamination clean up case. Check out these links for details: www.bhopal.net | www.greenpeace.org | www.studentsforbhopal.org
CODEPINK Gives its First Ever Human Rights Award to Texas Fisherwomen Diane Wilson
You, too, can honor Diane by taking a simple action—see below!
At a dinner banquet in San Francisco on June 10, CODEPINK honored Texas fisherwoman Diane Wilson. Diane, “infamous” for her struggles against the chemical companies polluting the Gulf Coast, is in many ways responsible for the birth of CODEPINK. At a rousing speech to a group of environmentalists called Bioneers, Diane called on the “unreasonable women” of the world to come together to fight pollution, war, and injustice. Bioneers co-producer Nina Simons was so moved that she convened a gathering of “Unreasonable Women for the Earth” in 2002, and it was there that CODEPINK was conceived. Since then, Diane has joined CODEPINK in a hunger strike in front of the White House to try to stop the war in Iraq, chained herself to the UN fence to urge the UN to stop the war, and went to Iraq weeks before the invasion to send a message of peace to Iraqi women.
On the environmental front, Diane not only fights the chemical companies polluting her bay in Texas, but she has gone half-way around the world—to Bhopal, India—to fight the chemical companies there. In 1991 she was invited to India to a gathering looking back at the Union Carbide explosion in 1984 that killed over 20,000 people in Bhopal. She was so outraged by the chemical company’s lack of accountability to the victims, and even their refusal to clean up the site, that she became active in the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.
The best way we can pay tribute to Diane is to support her latest endeavor on behalf of the people of Bhopal. In response to a suit filed by Bhopal survivors, a court in New York has agreed to consider survivors’ claims for getting Union Carbide to clean up the toxic waste in Bhopal. For this to happen, the Indian Government needs to submit a letter to the New York court expressing its support for the survivors’ claims. The DEADLINE set by the New York court for receipt of such a letter is June 30, 2004. So far, the Indian Government has refused to respond.
Diane will join some of the Bhopal victims in a NO FOOD, NO WATER hunger strike starting on June 18. While Diane and her colleagues are putting their lives on the line, they are asking us to call, fax or send a letter to the Indian Consulate in New York: Mr. Ashok Tomar, New York Consul General Tel: 212 774 0600 Fax: 212 734 4980) or email the Minister of Chemicals in India (mincf.cpc@sb.nic.in).
Diane, a simple fisherwoman from a small village, understands the connections between poor fisherfolk in Texas, chemical victims in Bhopal, and war victims in Iraq. Over the years she has taken incredible personal risks to stop corporate and government abuses. She is a great inspiration to “unreasonable women” everywhere, and CODEPINK is delighted to have this opportunity to salute her courage and her example. Thank you, Diane. We love you.
TALKING POINTS FOR PHONE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE INDIAN EMBASSY IN NEW YORK
1. Ask for Mr. Ashok Singh Tomar, Consul General, New York.
2. Subject of the call: To urge the Government of India to submit a letter by JUNE 30 supporting Bhopal survivors' claims in ongoing lawsuit in New York court seeking remediation of contaminated factory site and surroundings by Union Carbide.
3. More than 5000 tons of toxic wastes abandoned by Union Carbide in Bhopal represents an ongoing source of pollution.
4. Nearly 20,000 people in the vicinity are forced to consume contaminated water due to the inaction by the Government and the company.
5. After two decades of inaction by Government and industry, survivors approached the Second District Court of New York seeking remediation of contaminated site and groundwater by Union Carbide.
6. Clean-up should be paid for by the Polluter -- Union Carbide. Costs of clean-up can run into several hundreds of crores, and shouldn't be passed on to taxpayers.
7. The Second District Court of New York has indicated that it will consider the claim if it receives a letter BY JUNE 30 from the Government of India indicating the Government's support of plaintiffs' claims for remediation by Union Carbide.
8. Reiterate that you are calling to press upon the Government to submit a letter to the New York court supporting the survivors' claims for clean-up by Union Carbide.
9. Mention that the failure of the Indian Govt to send this letter is causing concern among Bhopalis, and that this will lead to a global waterless hunger strike by by Bhopalis, which will be supported by Diane Wilson and Indians in the US.
BACKGROUND:
The world’s worst-ever industrial disaster devastated the Indian city of Bhopal nearly 20 years ago, in 1984. Union Carbide’s deadly legacy continues to haunt the people of Bhopal. Toxic wastes abandoned by Union Carbide remain strewn in and around the factory site representing an ongoing source of pollution. Poisons from these wastes have contaminated the groundwater serving more than 20,000 people.
After two decades of inaction by the company and the Government, survivors and residents from the contaminated areas filed a suit in the Southern District Court of New York seeking clean-up of the contamination by Union Carbide.
A March 17, 2004, order of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, USA, ruled that survivors’ claims seeking clean-up by Union Carbide should be considered by the New York District Court if the Indian government or the State of Madhya Pradesh seeks to intervene in this action or otherwise urges the Court to order such relief. The New York District Court has given the Government of India until June 30, 2004, to submit such a letter.
MODEL LETTER TO GOVERNMENT OF INDIA:
To: The Prime Minister, Govt of India
C/o Mr. Ashok Tomar, Dy Consul General & Consul
3 E. 64th St., New York 10021
Tel: 212 774 0600
Fax: 212 734 4980
OR
Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Chemicals
Tel: +91 11 23386519, 23386364. Fax: +91 11 23384020
Email: mincf.cpc@sb.nic.in
Dear Sir,
I’m writing to urge your Government to do right by the survivors of the Bhopal disaster by taking steps to address their long-standing concerns. Thousands of tons of toxic wastes lie dumped and open to the elements in and around the former Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. Poisons from these wastes have leached into the groundwater serving more than 20,000 people in the neighborhood.
After two decades of inaction by the company and the Government, survivors and residents from the contaminated areas filed a suit in the Southern District Court of New York seeking clean-up of the contamination by Union Carbide. (Sajida Bano et al v. Union Carbide Corporation and Warren Anderson)
A March 17, 2004, order of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, USA, ruled that survivors’ claims seeking clean-up by Union Carbide should be considered by the New York District court if the Indian government or the State of Madhya Pradesh seeks to intervene in this action or otherwise urges the Court to order such relief. The New York District Court has given the Government of India until June 30, 2004, to submit such a letter.
Allowing the polluter to escape because it is a powerful MNC, and allowing the victims to be revictimized because they are seen as powerless poor people is a dangerous folly. Not only does it underestimate the power of organized and globalized resistance that the Bhopalis are capable of unleashing, it also projects India as a willing dumping ground for the world s dirty technology.
I urge the Indian Government to support the legal action initiated by survivors by writing to the Southern District Court of New York urging the court to order plant site and groundwater remediation by Union Carbide Corporation.
Sincerely,
Name Address:
CODEPINK, 2010 Linden Ave, Venice, CA. 90291
(310) 827-4320 & (415) 575-5555
info@codepinkalert.org / webmistress@codepinkalert.org
